Positive ANA test result today now waiting to see Dr

[Ilovechips81]

Hi, I’m new here and after a little bit of advice. I’m 38 and had a miscarriage at 7 weeks back in April. After the initial grief I read that there can be a link between lupus and miscarriage. My mum has lupus SLE and has since I was a child. I was tested In my teens and twenties (no idea what bloods were done) and results negative.

I saw my gp in June who, because of mums lupus, agreed to do some lupus bloods. All have come back ok except for a positive ANA result. The next appt for my go is 21st August. I have been actively trying to get pregnant since the miscarriage and there is a chance I may fall pregnant before this date.

What should I ask to happen at my next gp appointment? If I were to fall pregnant in the meantime, do I need to get to the gp for any medicine to help me stay pregnant?

My only other symptoms (had them for years and years) are Raynauds In my fingers and occasionally a toe, and I come out in a rash on my forearms in the heat (had to see gp 10 years ago to get a steroid cream and they said it looked like my forearms just don’t sweat).

Any advice would be very welcome.

[Krazykat26]

Hi Ilovechips..love your name!!

Welcome to the forum 💐💐

If u have tested positive for ANA it's more than likely that your blood sample will be tested further..ds-dna is the further test n it indicates a diagnosis for lupus. It can take some time for results to come back..so by the time u see your GP they should have the results. If positive the GP will probably refer u to a rheumatologist or dermatologist depending on symptoms.

I'm very sorry to hear about your miscarriage..this will also be something to ask your GP about who can advise what route to go down in order to get u through your future plans to get pregnant.

[Ilovechips81 in reply to Krazykat26]

Thanks Krazykat26. I have no idea of the blood tests they ran other than they were lupus ones and they took several vials of the stuff, they were done on 5th July and the only positive one was this one, apparently the rest are normal.

I actually don’t have any symptoms (my mums were low platelets and joint pain when she has flares), the miscarriage and that my mum has got lupus sle were the only reason I got tested. Normal Bloods that were taken when I was pregnant were all ok, I have no joint pain or rashes, so I really expected the tests to all be normal, I’m shocked they are not.

I don’t like the sun and get prickly heat if I stay in it too long and do get raynauds in the winter but other than that nothing. Feel like it’s a bit of a mystery and not sure where he would refer me to if I have no other signs or symptoms at the moment. Is it possible to get a positive Ana test and not have lupus?

[Krazykat26 in reply to Ilovechips81]

Yes apparently it is possible to have positive ana n be 'normal'..stick around here n u get loads of info about blood tests..this is as I understand it n I'm not a doctor!! If u have a +ANA your blood is automatically sent off for further test which is called ds-dna..if that comes back positive it indicates a possibility of lupus..however u also have to be suffering symptoms..there's a list of symptoms n if u tick four or more of the symptom list..boom boom..it's lupus!!

During your pregnancy they wouldn't have been checking for lupus anyway..they'd be checking your general health so it's great news that you're physically well!!

It sounds to me that your GP is taking good care of u n is checking that lupus wasn't the cause of your miscarriage..u want to have a family so ruling it out seems sensible to me.

[Ilovechips81 in reply to Krazykat26]

Thank you, hopefully he will look to investigate further as it was me that had to ask for the test in the first place. I suppose it’s positive that I’ll be seeing the same dr. I liked his manner and approach

[NeuronerdDoaty]

I have no advice but welcome and I pray it all goes well.

I do not have positive numbers unless I’m in a flare. I have SLE, Sjögren, and reynauds as far back as childhood with some symptoms.

I’m sorry for your loss. Please take care of yourself. Much love your way💛

[Ilovechips81 in reply to NeuronerdDoaty]

Thank you. The whole point of me getting tested was that I don’t want to go through another miscarriage, not that I had any symptoms, will be interesting to see where things go from here

[Paul_Howard Partner LUPUS UK]

Hi Ilovechips81 ,

I'm sorry to hear about your miscarriage earlier this year.

Your positive ANA result may not necessarily mean anything more, as I see in a comment below you haven't had any other symptoms. Around 5-10% of the population can have a positive ANA despite having no health problems and this is more likely in people who have a close relative with a condition like lupus.

As Krazykat26 says, I imagine that your GP will repeat the test to check it isn't a false positive and may also screen for other autoantibodies.

It is worth asking your doctor to do blood tests for antiphospholipid antibodies. Antiphospholipid syndrome (APS), also known as 'sticky blood' is not uncommon in people with lupus and you may be at a slightly higher risk than the rest of the population because of your mum's diagnosis. Recurrent miscarriages are often an early sign of this condition and they can potentially be prevented with treatment. Usually they won't test for these antibodies until you've had three miscarriages, but with your mum's diagnosis they may agree to screen for you earlier. You can learn more about APS at aps-support.org.uk/

[Ilovechips81 in reply to Paul_Howard]

Thank you, I will make a point to ask about the sticky blood test. I went because I knew of the lupus miscarriage link, I had assumed it was due to my age making me higher risk of chromosome issues, however we had seen a scan at 6 and a bit weeks and a heartbeat so very sad to then miscarry. I hope that because of this recent situation and now this test, that they take it seriously. I think it’s positive that I will see the same gp as i really liked his approach last time.

[baba]

Have the tests for APS, it’s a simple cheap blood test, no woman should have to suffer 3 miscarriages for a treatable cause.

For information on APS/antiphospholipid syndrome/Hughes Syndrome see the following:

ghic.world/

healthunlocked.com/hughes-s...